Avoiding the Crowds in a Tiny Nook | 1000 hrs. Outside
I haven’t been thrown into the utter chaos of complete quarantine, as many others have. In fact, while a lot of my life has been turned upside down, a lot of it has stayed exactly the same. For that reason, I find it difficult to completely relate to those who truly have been quarantining themselves for the past few weeks.
Being an “essential” worker, means that I still have to leave my house, be gone for a significant amount of time, work in close proximity with others in the same boat, and then come home and be mom, and student, and wife. What has changed? All of my classes are now completely online (nice in theory, but if you’re anything like me you will do what you have to do to pass and absorb very little). Daycare is non-existent. Which means, I get off of a 13 hour shift, come home, sleep about 1.5-2 hours, and then tend to my little minion. I’m not complaining. I don’t have covid-19, so all things considered, I’m considering myself lucky.
Another major thing that has changed is how we venture out on our adventures. I used to scan the parks for an area with few to zero other dogs (because mine are assholes). Now I scan them for few people; which is tough to do these days. It seems as though all of those people who used to brunch and kick it at Target are now outdoors people. Again, I’m not complaining :) I’m thrilled to see people enjoying the great outdoors! That’s basically my mission in life, to motivate others to get outside! But it has become a new obstacle and one which we simply navigate as needed.
Luckily, A is at an age where she is perfectly content in a few feet by few feet section, so long as it’s near the river. We spent the better part of 2 hours with her cooking, cleaning, and creating in this small little patch heaven. Not a bad way to forget about how sleep deprived I am.
This adventure is a part of our 1000 hours Outside Challenge! Far from complete, but a work in progress :)